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Touted trio among eight Bucs set for Fall League

Jonathan Mayo discusses which prospects to watch in the upcoming AFL season, including Byron Buxton, Addison Russell and Mark Appel

By Tom Singer and Teddy Cahill
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MLB.com |

PITTSBURGH -- Right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Nick Kingham and outfielder Josh Bell will get a chance to further their careers in the upcoming Arizona Fall League.

Glasnow and Bell, ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, among Pirates prospects, received word of their selection to the blue-chip offseason league in the wake of their selections as Pitcher and Player of the Year in the Class A Advanced Florida State League. Kingham, No. 5 on the prospects list, is wrapping up his first Double-A season.

The trio will be among eight Pirates prospects playing in the six-team league for the Scottsdale Scorpions, who will be managed by Jeff Banister, the Major League club's bench coach.

Catcher Elias Diaz, a fast riser in the organization, is one of five other farmhands chosen to participate in a loop commonly referred to as a "finishing school" for top prospects.

Glasnow, a fifth-round choice in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, dominated the FSL this season, pitching shutout ball in half of his 22 starts. In 118 1/3 innings, he notched 148 strikeouts and held batters to an average of .167.

The AFL assignment is the latest recognition of Bell's affirmative comeback from a knee injury that all but wiped out his first pro season in 2012. The second-round pick in 2011 -- right after Gerrit Cole -- also represented the Bucs in the 2014 Futures Game in Minnesota.

Bell earned his Player of the Year honors despite leaving the league in a promotion to Double-A Altoona at the Minor League All-Star break. After hitting .335 in 84 games with the Marauders, he batted .287 in 24 games with the Curve before landing on the DL a week ago with a left knee contusion.

Kingham, a 2010 fourth-round pick, is another big arm in the Pirates' system. He has split the season between Altoona -- where he had an odd 1-7 record despite a 3.04 ERA -- and Indianapolis, where he is 5-4 with a 1.03 WHIP.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer. Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.